Letter-box for post-offices.



No. 686,543. Patented Nov. l2, I90l.

P. SUHULZE.

LETTER BOX FOR POST OFFICES.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

.ruz nonrus FETERS no, PuoTuLrrHu. \msnmcma I:v c,

No. 686,543. Patented Nov. l2, 190i.

P. SCHULZE. h

LETTER BOX FOB POST OFFICES.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1901.) (No llodalJ' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

3% W ii/3 Q 2 m5 Noams PETERS 0a.. Puo'ro-u'mo WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL SOHULZE, OF ERFURT, GERMANY.

LETTER-BOX FO R POST-OFFICES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,543, da.ted November 12, 1901.

Application filed April 12, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL 'SOHULZE, merchant, a subject of the King of Prussia, Ger

man Emperor, residing at Erfurt, in the Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes for Post-Offices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in letter-boxes for post-oflices to insure the safe delivery of letters that are calledfor by the employees of the addressee.

It has laterally become a common practice for large business establishments to have the incoming mails called for at the post-office by employees. Under this arrangement it sometimes happened that either by accident or de-. sign letters or postal cards went astray while passing through the hands of these employees. The object of my present invention is to prevent this under any circumstances.

My invention consists in providing an apparatus by which the employee fetching the letters from the post-office is absolutely precluded from gaining access to the correspondence, while, on the other hand, the apparatus is accessible to the postal official at any time for the insertion of letters intended for the respective firms.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a vertical section. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section; and. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, partly in section.

The apparatus consists, essentially, of a separate compartment 1 for each recipient having his letters called for at the post-office, which compartments may, for instance, be arranged at a separate post-ofice counter, and where there is a large number of firms calling for their letters these compartments may be arranged so as to form one large cabinet. Each of these compartments 1 is provided on the side facing toward the postal official with a plate or inscription showing the name of the recipient and may, for instance, bear on the side turned toward the public a number which will serve for the guidance of the person calling for letters. The bottom 2 of the compartment 1, which is open at both ends, is fitted with a spring-hook3. One of the sides of the compartment is provided throughout its entire length with a lonfierial No. 1589. (No model.)

gitudinal groove 4, which at its farther end tapers off toward the interior, so as to decrease in depth, and curves downward, and the other side has at its anterior end, facing toward the public, a recess 5, arranged to serve as a bolt-nab for the locking-bolt 6 of the box 8, to be inserted in this compartment from the front by means of a handle 7, in order to serve as a receptacle for the letters. The box 8 is completely closed, but the end 10, facing toward the postal oificial, is arranged to fold down after the manner of a trap-door, the latter being provided with pins or projections 10, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) which pins are guided in slots 9,

and the door is arranged to be locked at 11. The key for this look is in the hands of the recipientthat is to say, the head of the firm or hisdeputy only-while the key for the lock 6 for fixing or releasing the box 8 in the compartment 1 is held by the employee deputed to fetch the letters.

Cooperating with the longitudinal slot 10f the compartment 1 is a retaining-latch 13, pivoted to the end of the box and arranged to revolve on a pivot 12 and the retaining end of said latch catches into a groove 14:, Fig. 3, provided on the folding end or trap-door 10 of the box, so that complete locking by the automatically-closing lock 11 is rendered impossible, (which might happen through an involuntary pressure against the trap-door 10,) at the same time preventing the trap-door 10 from opening entirely. If now the empty letter-box 8, the trap-door 10 of which is provided at its lower edge witha boss or roundedoif projection 15, is inserted into the compartment 1, the spring-hook 3 is depressed and the retaining-latch 13, sliding with its projecting end in the longitudinal groove 4 of compartment 1, will be forced inward at the tapering or shallower downward-curved farther end of the groove, and its retaining end will thus be removed out of the groove 14. Thereby the trap-door 10 is released and will fall back by its gravitation into the open position, so that the oflicial can throw the arriving letters unobstructedly into the box 8, as shown in Fig. 1 in full lines. Of course two such boxes 8 will be required, so that a receptacle for arriving letters may always be available at the post-office. When one is taken away, the other should be substituted to receive the letters in the meantime. When the letter-box 8 is to be removed, the employee unlocks the lock 6 and pulls out the box by the handle 7. During the action of withdrawing the boss or projection 15 of the trap-door 10 slides over the spring-hook 3 of compartment 1, and at the moment when the box 15 passes over the catch of hook 3 the trap-door is made automatically to spring into the lock 11. The box when completely withdrawn from the compartment 1 will therefore be locked and accessible to the holder of the key only. Thereupon the empty box 8 is inserted into the compartment 1, and its lock (3 is locked. During the insertion of the box the process already described as regards the complete opening of the trap-door 10 is repeated. In order to avoid a disturbing noise being caused by the fall of the open trapdoor, it is made to fall on a soft pad 16, suitably arranged in the compartment 1. The longitudinal sides of the compartment 1 are beveled off internally at the end facing toward the official and carried forward so as to terminate flush with the internal surface of the box 8, so that letters inserted or thrown into the box may not catch against the edges of the box. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

In the arrangements shown in the drawings the back of the inserted box in the arrangement just described is rigidly joined to the sides and the bottom of the box. This back (or end face turned toward the public) may also be joined to the bottom by hinges, so as to form a door, which in that case is held in position by a bolt. If this bolt is withdrawn by means of a special lock and key, direct access is afforded to the contents of the box without any need of withdrawing the latter. This would afford the advantage that the head of the firm, who is in possession of this key, could gain direct access to the contents of the letter-box, while the employee sent to call for the letters can only open the lock which withdraws the bolt retaining the box in the compartment, and is thus only enabled to withdraw the box, with its contents, without gaining access to the latter. The last-mentioned arrangement of the hinged back, secured with lock and key, is not claimed as an invention.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. A drawer for post-office boxes having a door at one end, means for locking the door when closed and means carried by the drawer for engaging the door to prevent a complete closing thereof.

2. A drawer for post-office boxes having a door at one end, and a latch carried by the drawer, arranged to engage the door to prevent a complete closing thereof.

3. The combination with the compartment of a post-oflice box, of a drawer arranged to slide in said compartment, a door at one end of the drawer, a latch for preventing a complete closing of the door, and means within the compartment cooperating with the latch during the insertion of the drawer in the compartment for withdrawing the latch from engagement with the door.

4. A drawer for post-oifice boxes having a door at one end, means for locking said door, a latch pivoted to the end of the drawer, and a keeper carried by the door arranged for engagement by the latch to prevent a complete closing of the door, for the purpose specified.

5. The combination with the compartment of a post-oifice box having a groove in one side thereof, of a drawer arranged to slide in said compartment, a door at one end of the drawer, a latch for preventing a complete closing of the door, said latch cooperating with the groove in the compartment and operating during the insertion of the drawerin the compartment to withdraw the latch from engagement with the door.

6. The combination with the compartment of a post-office box having a groove in one side thereof, of a drawer arranged for insertion in said compartment, a door at one end of the drawer, and means operating to hold the door against complete closing, said means cooperating with the groove in the compartment to free the door upon a complete insertion of the drawer into the compartment.

7. The combination with the compartment of a post-office box, of a drawer arranged for insertion in said compartment, a door at one end of the drawer, a lock for said door, aprojection on the door, and means fixed within the compartment and cooperating with the projection on the door for automatically closing the latter during the withdrawal of the drawer.

8. The combination with the compartment of a post-ofiice box, of a drawer arranged for insertion in said compartment, a door at one end of the, drawer, a lock for said door, a projection on the lower edge of the door, and a spring-hook fixed to the bottom of the compartment and cooperating with the projection on the door for automatically closing and locking the latter during the withdrawal of the drawer.

9. The combination with the compartment of a post-office box having both ends open, of a drawer arranged for insertion in said compartment, and a door slidably connected to the inner end of said drawer and arranged to move forward within the drawer and form a continuation of the bottom thereof when said door is in its open position, the arrangement being such that when the drawer is in the compartment and the door is in its open position no appreciable part of the door will extend beyond the inner Wall of the compartment.

10. The combination with the compartment of a post-office box having both ends open, of a drawer slidably pivoted at one end to the inner end of the drawer and arranged to slide forward for a portion of its length within the drawer and form a continuation of the bottom thereof when said door is in its open position, the arrangement being such that when the drawer is in its inserted position and the door is open, said door will lie within the compartment.

11. The combination with the compartment of a post-office box having both ends open and having a groove in one side wall thereof, of a drawer arranged for insertion in said compartment, a door at one end of the drawer, means operating to hold the door against complete closing, said means cooperating with the slot in the side wall of the compartment to automatically free the door upon a complete insertion of the drawer into the compartment, and a cushion or pad at the rear open end of the compartment upon which the door may fall and rest when released.

12. In a post-office box, the combination with a compartment open at both ends and a door at one end adapted when in its open position to rest on said pad or cushion.

13. In a post-office box, the combination with a compartment open at both ends, of a drawer arranged for insertion in said compartment and provided with a downwardlyopening door at one end, means for holding the door in an elevated or closed position, means for releasing the door to allow it to drop to open position, and a pad or cushion interposed between the door and bottom wall of the rear open end of the compartment to receive the impact of the door on opening.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL SOHULZE. Witnesses:

WILHELM BINDEWALD, CARL KIND. 

